Wednesday, September 17, 2014

The most boring bankrupt economic argument–“we export raw logs when we could be adding value and making jobs”

The rot set in in the late 1940s on this. Jim Anderton was maybe the first in the modern era to believe we wantonly refused to profit from the blindingly obvious money and jobs to be had from processing timber.

In recent times only Winston Peters has been bright enough to see what the entire business sector has apparently completely missed.

Now, joining him as a value add timber processing expert we have the lawyer from Herne Bay – Mr Cunliffe who has spotted the opportunity.

It is, you understand, not so profitable that any of them would give up their day job… it never is, is it?

It seems that only these elite economic whizz kids can see what needs doing. Mr Cunliffe even wants to stop Fonterra doing the unthinkable – exporting what people want to buy and what they will buy – and focussing instead on processing raw product here in NZ.

Apparently there is more money to be made ignoring the reality which sees us export what people want and instead “processing” here in NZ… at an uncompetitive wage rate all these people, in a curious coincidence, want to hike.

Evidently the business sector, with skin in the game and a shirt to lose – not just “the baubles” knows we are more than lucky to be able to export the logs and milk fat – and doing that is far from a cinch.

Shouting “value add” does not make one a competitive processor, it does not convince consumers in a world full of competitively priced product they should buy from you, and it will never justify giving up the hard earned offering you do have.

Besides… 50 years of bleating about this wrong headed nonsense produces boredom by the tonne none of which can be exported.